Definition: Heredity is the transfer of biological characters from one generation to another via genes.
Mechanism of Changes: Hereditary changes occur due to various reasons, primarily Mutations. Any sudden change in the nucleotide sequence of a gene can lead to a minor or major change in the characters of the organism.
Inheritance: These changes are passed down to the offspring through gametes. During sexual reproduction, the crossing over of chromosomes also leads to new combinations of genes, resulting in variations.